Cablegate: Holocaust Education: Italy Passes Itc Gavel To

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS ROME 001018

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/OHI

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM PO IT
SUBJECT: HOLOCAUST EDUCATION: ITALY PASSES ITC GAVEL TO
POLAND

1. On March 15, Italy formally passed the chairmanship of
the International Task Force for Cooperation on Holocaust
Education, Remembrance and Research (ITF) to Poland.
Attendees at the ceremony included the Polish Ambassador,
representatives of the Italian Jewish communities in Rome and
Milan, and academics specializing in the Shoah. Italian
Chair Ambassador Franchetti Pardo outlined Italy's major
accomplishments this past year, which included expanding ITF
membership to twenty countries, funding 30 education
projects, and expanding distribution of holocaust education
materials to schools in Europe. Following the ceremony, the
MFA released a statement at a press conference announcing the
handover. At a March 17 lunch hosted by the Ambassador for
visiting members of the American Jewish Committee, Pardo told
the group that he was very proud of Italy's accomplishments
and was confident in Poland's ability to carry on ITF
activities.

2. During the ceremony, the new chairperson of the ITF for
Poland, Professor Daria Nalecz said she looked forward to the
challenge of chairing ITF during a year with so many World
War II anniversaries. She noted that Poland itself had lost
three of the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust and
said the six were part of ten million people overall killed
by the Nazis. She planned to continue Italy's work,
especially in supporting education projects for children, and
outlined plans for ITF meetings June 27-30 and November 14-17
as well as an international conference at some point next
year.

3. Karel Fracapane, who has been coordinating ITF
activities, confirmed that he has now moved to Warsaw and
will continue working with Dr. Nalecz. He has been an
excellent Embassy contact and post recommends that Embassy
Warsaw contact him to continue efforts to monitor ITF
activities.

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2005ROME01018 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED

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